1. Field of the Invention
The invention described herein relates to a mobile set top box for receiving content and reformatting for and sending to a display the content for viewing.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Television and internet users access content available over cable, satellite and Internet networks. Each of those networks transmits content over the networks and allows the users to view the content on a television or computer screens.
With respect to televisions, television users commonly access content using a set top box. The box is a dedicated computing device that serves as an interface between a display and a broadband network. A common set top box is a cable or satellite set top box found in homes with a cable or satellite television connection. The set top box receives a television signal over the cable lines or from a satellite dish, reformats the data in the signal and sends to a television the data for display by the television. The set top box also allows a television viewer to access content such as on-screen programming guides, interactive content such as home or auto advertisements, games or on-demand movies.
Set top boxes, however, have limitations. For example, set top boxes can be used only with the network that provides the boxes. For example, a set top box provided by Verizon FIOS can not be used on a Comcast cable network. Moreover, content output from set top boxes can only be viewed on devices which are capable of receiving TV signals.
With respect to computers, Internet users commonly access content using a desktop or laptop computer. While Internet access points are available in many locations, many computer users will not transport their desktop computers between locations. Laptop computer users often transport their laptops and some laptop users have a modem card that allows them to access the Internet over a wireless network such as Verizon's, Sprint's or AT&T's wireless networks. The laptop computers, however, usually only allow the users to view the content on the laptop screen or another computer peripheral.
Other mobile computing devices such as mobile telephones are available, but they also have limitations regarding content access. For example, along with wireless phone service, many wireless providers such as Verizon, Sprint and AT&T also provide the ability to access content over the Internet or content from the providers such as through Verizon's V Cast service.
Today, a mobile computer device such as a mobile phone, PDA or Smartphone is the primary device people use to connect wirelessly. Broadband data cards provided by wireless carriers are growing in use, but the numbers of such cards are a fraction of the number of mobile phones being used for voice and data communications. Although there are many reasons for this, a major factor is the size of the mobile phone/PDA device.
Various prior art references have attempted to harness the abilities of known mobile phones. A specific example is International Publication Number WO 03/032504, for Methods and Systems of Wireless Communication Between a Remote Data Network and a Set-Top Box. This publication is directed to the field of wireless data transmission and reception. The invention disclosed therein particularly relates to a data transmission and reception system including systems and methods for using a wireless telephone to receive and transmit packet signals via a wireless or cellular network for display on a standard television using a set-top box.
The disclosure of this reference is directed to a location-specific implementation, replacing the distribution network for traditional set-top boxes in those locations where there is no wireline system. For example, the reference teaches that “there is a need for a system that provides Internet access to areas where landline telephone networks do not exist or are unreliable.”
A further example is International Publication Number WO 08/136620 for a Method and System for Receiving Digital Broadcasting by Using Mobile Communication Terminal. The disclosure is related to “a system and method for receiving digital broadcasts by using a mobile communication terminal. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and a method for receiving digital broadcasts by connecting a digital broadcast receiving device to a mobile communication terminal so that the mobile communication terminal replaces circuits of the digital broadcast receiving device . . . .”
The disclosure of this reference indicates that its invention is limited to displaying over-the-air signals on a mobile terminal. This is accomplished by moving direct digital broadcast signals (e.g. DBS) that would normally be received by an antenna and set top box with the same technology.
Mobile computing devices have limitations not recognized in the cited references. Many mobile computing devices can not be connected to large display monitors. Furthermore, many wireless networks have low bandwidth in comparison to Internet, cable or satellite transmissions systems. Based on available bandwidth considerations and processing power of a particular mobile computing device, content transferred to a mobile computing device is typically sized to fit only the mobile computing device.
For example, the bandwidth of a mobile phone communicating over an Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) network, which is the protocol utilized by many Smartphones in the United States, is sufficient to support streaming content encoded for QVGA (Quarter Video Graphics Array) resolution, which may be the native resolution for a given Smartphone. However, this bandwidth is not nearly enough for supporting video at, for example, 1080p resolution (full HD), which may be the native resolution for a target display.
It can be appreciated that streaming low-resolution video from a cellular phone to an HD-TV has not been a reasonable option. However, as mobile phones approach global ubiquity, and as 3G and 4G networks as well as WiFi and WiMax begin to proliferate, the availability of high-speed wireless data transmission networks anywhere is near.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mobile set top box that combines the functionality of a set top box and a mobile communication system such that content normally available at discrete locations can be available any time, any where a user seeks access to such content.
In addition, there is a further need to enable the mobile set top box to up-convert content intended for a mobile computer device, such as a mobile phone, so that the content is properly viewed on a larger display, such as a large screen HD-TV.